House of the Dragon: This happens in episode 10

How did Rhaenyra and Daemon fare while Alicent and her son seized power over Westeros in King’s Landing? So-so, as evidenced by the House of the Dragon Season 1 finale. Because as soon as Rhaenys arrives on her dragon with the bad news, Rhaenyra is so taken with it that she loses her and Daemon’s youngest child and is bedridden for the time being. Daemon responds as only Daemon can respond.

House of the Dragon: Rhaenyra confronts Otto Hightower.

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Enraged, he immediately decides to go to war and summon those loyal to him and Rhaenyra. Rhaenys, on the other hand, has a good reason why she didn’t kill Alicent and Aegon II at the coronation. She doesn’t want to be the one to start a war. And it seems she doesn’t need to, either, because when Otto Hightower shows up at Daemon and Rhaenyra’s house to work out the details of their surrender, Daemon wants to kill Alicent’s treacherous father right away.

The voice of reason here is Rhaenyra of all people. She stops Daemon from killing Otto and asks for a day to think about the offer. That she still sees herself as the queen of Westeros is shown, however, when Aegon’s former bodyguard, Erryk Cargyll, brings her her father’s old crown. Rhaenyra doesn’t hesitate to put them on to underscore her claim to power.

Aemond vs. Lucerys

House of the Dragon: Aemond wins over House Baratheon.

Credit: HBO/Sky



Similar to Alicent, however, Rhaenyra also seems ready to seek a peaceful solution. After all, she has Corlys Velaryon at her side, who miraculously didn’t die of his wounds. With him she has the opportunity to set up a naval blockade and thus besiege King’s Landing. So she orders her three sons to search for more allies on their dragons, albeit as diplomats and not as conquerors.

Lucerys ends up in Storms End, the castle of the Baratheon family. He is received there, but he is not the first dragon rider to look for allies here. Aemond Targaryen was there before Lucerys, adding to the already heated atmosphere.

After calling Lucerys “Lord Strong” once more and demanding that he cut out his eye, Borros Baratheon has had enough. To prevent bloodshed, he accompanies Lucerys to his dragon. Once both are airborne, Aemond sets off in pursuit. In the ensuing fight, he kills both Lucerys and his dragon. Whether this happened on purpose remains unclear.

House of the Dragon: Daemon swears allegiance to Rhaenyra.

Credit: HBO/Sky



But even if Aemond’s act was an accident, Rhaenyra has had enough of the arrogance of the Hightower family and their kin in King’s Landing. Now the black queen is also ready to go to war.

House of the Dragon: A first conclusion

Surprise: House of the Dragon is much more exciting than even the fans could have imagined. Season 1 not only had to fight against the bad taste left by the finale of Game of Thrones, but also had to process some time jumps. The fact that they didn’t knock the audience out is also due to the actors, who without exception do an extraordinary job.